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Historical portrait of Henry III through five châteaux (Vincennes, Blois, Chenonceau, Angers, Plessis-lès-Tours), marking 450 years since the Estates General of Blois
Henry III in Five Châteaux: 450 Years Since the Estates General of Blois, the Reign of the Last Valois
On 6 December 1576, Henry III opened his first Estates General at Blois. From Vincennes to Plessis-lès-Tours, by way of Chenonceau and Angers, five châteaux tell the turbulent reign of the last Valois king.
Editorial journal · Carte des Châteaux ·
450 ans des états généraux de Blois
He reached the throne by a night-time flight and left it stabbed to death on a close stool. In between lay fifteen years of Wars of Religion, two meetings of the Estates General, a political assassination ordered from his own bedchamber and an unexpected reconciliation with his Protestant heir. Henry III, son of Henri II and Catherine de' Medici, remains one of the most caricatured kings in French history, often reduced to his «mignons» and his cup-and-ball toys. His châteaux reveal a different man: a cultivated sovereign, obsessed with etiquette and royal authority, who tried to govern a kingdom split in two. On 6 December 1576, 450 years ago, he opened his first Estates General at Blois. The anniversary is an opportunity to follow his reign from Vincennes to the banks of the Loire, in five stops that remain visible today.
Did you know? Three figures around the king
Catherine de Médicis
1519-1589
Widow of Henri II, mother of three kings, she exerted a constant influence over the reign of Henry III, her favourite son. A builder, she had the gallery at Chenonceau erected and organised festivities that served her policy. She died at Blois on 5 January 1589, two weeks after the assassination of the Duke of Guise, whom she had disapproved of.
Henri Ier de Lorraine, duc de Guise
1550-1588
Known as « le Balafré » (the Scarred) since a facial wound received in 1575, head of the Catholic League and idol of Paris, he forced the king to flee his capital during the Day of the Barricades. He was killed at the Château de Blois on 23 December 1588 by the Forty-Five.
Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont
1553-1601
Wife of Henry III from 1575, she remained childless but loyal to a king she loved. After his assassination, she inherited Chenonceau, retired there and wore white, the colour of royal mourning, hence her nickname « the White Queen ». Her bedchamber, hung with black tapestries scattered with silver tears, has been reconstructed at the château. She died at Moulins in 1601.
Following Henry III today
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